Our focus at school as a whole staff was Student Agency and exploring how we can give our students the extra support in how they choose to learn.
With UDL and exploring how it works might be the next step in our journey. Although this is based on research and results in the US, it is still applicable to learners all over the world.
At its core, Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a mindset. It’s a set of beliefs and principles that guide educators in everything they do. Through UDL, educators can encourage success and improve outcomes by focusing on learner variability and creating customisable learning experiences.
The UDL approach to teaching minimises barriers and maximises outcomes for all learners. It begins with the foundational understanding that every learner is highly variable. No learner is just one thing; we all have strengths and weaknesses. Those strengths and weaknesses become apparent based on the task, the environment, the resources and tools available, and even a learner’s affect (what sort of day they’re having).
UDL aims to change the design of the environment and curriculum rather than to change the learner. By anticipating learner variability and proactively reducing the barriers to learning, UDL empowers all learners to engage in rigorous, meaningful learning experiences.
In any classroom or learning environment, you can expect that there will be a wide range of interests, background experiences, and skills. When we plan for this range from the start, then more learners are able to access, participate, and engage.
When UDL is applied, the barriers to learning are addressed through the design of the environment. Instead of noting what the learner may not be able to do or understand, UDL reframes the barrier to be in how the design of the lesson. With UDL, there is intentional design to provide options that support the learner to gain the necessary skills or background in a lesson.
Learner variability
UDL aims to change the design of the environment and curriculum rather than to change the learner.
Educators know learners will vary- we can anticipate this variability and plan for it from the start.
- focus on designing options that recruit interest, sustain effort and persistence, and support self-regulation
- ensure learners can perceive, build necessary language and symbols, and comprehension.
- support learners to physically act, express and communicate, and to develop executive function skills.
By anticipating learner variability and proactively reducing the barriers to learning, UDL empowers all learners to engage in rigorous, meaningful learning experiences.
The benefits of UDL
There are many benefits to using UDL in the classroom. Some of these include:
Moving Toward Intentional Design
Sheboygan Falls is a public school district in Wisconsin whose mission is to “inspire each student to reach his or her full potential with exceptional educators.”
‘Random Acts of Teaching and Learning’
Sheboygan Falls had an inclusive model for students who received specially-designed instruction with IEPs (individualised education programs). The staff worked hard to support the whole student, however teachers described that they often struggled to know how to meet the needs of all the students in their classrooms, and inclusive design seemed overwhelming. UDL emphasise variability and choice, implementing UDL does not mean just offering options. Choices needed to align to a clear learning goal that learners understand and there needs to be consistent scaffolding and opportunity to make choices. Starting with the goal is essential to UDL, when you have clear goals, it makes the options purposeful.
By anticipating learner variability and proactively reducing the barriers to learning, UDL empowers all learners to engage in rigorous, meaningful learning experiences.
The benefits of UDL
There are many benefits to using UDL in the classroom. Some of these include:
- improved academic achievement for all learners, including those with disabilities;
- increased engagement and motivation;
- greater equity and inclusion;
- reduced barriers to learning; and
- improved digital literacy skills
Moving Toward Intentional Design
Sheboygan Falls is a public school district in Wisconsin whose mission is to “inspire each student to reach his or her full potential with exceptional educators.”
‘Random Acts of Teaching and Learning’
Sheboygan Falls had an inclusive model for students who received specially-designed instruction with IEPs (individualised education programs). The staff worked hard to support the whole student, however teachers described that they often struggled to know how to meet the needs of all the students in their classrooms, and inclusive design seemed overwhelming. UDL emphasise variability and choice, implementing UDL does not mean just offering options. Choices needed to align to a clear learning goal that learners understand and there needs to be consistent scaffolding and opportunity to make choices. Starting with the goal is essential to UDL, when you have clear goals, it makes the options purposeful.
Understanding the power of the goals was a game changer for the teachers at Sheboygan Falls. Deep understanding of the goals allowed educators to intentionally plan options to support students but UDL requires that you really know the goal and break apart the standard to focus in on the skill or the content that is the focus for each part of a lesson.
Analizing goals to really understand the skills or concepts that students were required to know or do. They worked as teams to evaluate their standards and transform those into clear lesson goals. They thought critically about their assessments and made sure that they also aligned to their goals. This is my next goal with my team - to really dig a bit deeper into the curriculum and design a program that will work for our students.
Once the team realised that goals were the key to designing with UDL, teachers started to provide multiple ways for students to engage and demonstrate understanding of that goal,
see more clearly where students were stuck, struggling, or disengaging during the learning,
have more conversations with students about how to reduce barriers.
Analizing goals to really understand the skills or concepts that students were required to know or do. They worked as teams to evaluate their standards and transform those into clear lesson goals. They thought critically about their assessments and made sure that they also aligned to their goals. This is my next goal with my team - to really dig a bit deeper into the curriculum and design a program that will work for our students.
Once the team realised that goals were the key to designing with UDL, teachers started to provide multiple ways for students to engage and demonstrate understanding of that goal,
see more clearly where students were stuck, struggling, or disengaging during the learning,
have more conversations with students about how to reduce barriers.
Goals Drive Choices
Understanding the learning goals unlocked creativity in his teaching and opened up more collaboration among their staff about how to provide choice to support learning those goals. “When a lesson is about materials, the teachers are trapped, and they can’t be flexible,” he says. “But when a lesson is about the goal, then they can be flexible. That's an ‘ah-ha’ moment.”
“Access is the critical first step for ensuring all students can perceive, act on, and engage in the learning.”
—CAST Professional Learning team
To support educators continuing to expand their inclusive planning strategies, the district provided teachers with professional learning time to apply UDL-aligned practices. They spent the fall professional development time learning about the Access level of the UDL Guidelines and discussed specific strategies that could be integrated into their lessons, such as captioning videos or text-to-speech and speech-to-text tools.
Website to learn more about UDL: UDL(Universal Design for Learning)
Understanding the learning goals unlocked creativity in his teaching and opened up more collaboration among their staff about how to provide choice to support learning those goals. “When a lesson is about materials, the teachers are trapped, and they can’t be flexible,” he says. “But when a lesson is about the goal, then they can be flexible. That's an ‘ah-ha’ moment.”
“Access is the critical first step for ensuring all students can perceive, act on, and engage in the learning.”
—CAST Professional Learning team
To support educators continuing to expand their inclusive planning strategies, the district provided teachers with professional learning time to apply UDL-aligned practices. They spent the fall professional development time learning about the Access level of the UDL Guidelines and discussed specific strategies that could be integrated into their lessons, such as captioning videos or text-to-speech and speech-to-text tools.
Website to learn more about UDL: UDL(Universal Design for Learning)
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